Waiting
by Midoriri
Summary: "You know, it's funny," he said, interrupting Won's muttering. "I never would have seen you as the 'pacing, nervous father' sort." WonxClaire


At first glance, it would seem that Won was a lot calmer than he was a few hours ago. But only at first glance.

A closer look would have revealed that he was paler than normal, that his fingers kept twitching, and his eyes shifting towards the door to the bedroom. There was nothing to be heard inside, and that made his uneasiness even worse.

The door opened, and he briefly stopped pacing, standing straighter. But it was only Elli; she was getting more hot water. The nurse looked over her shoulder at the man, finding some small humor in the way his shoulders slumped suddenly. "Everything's fine," she said reassuringly.

He didn't answer until Elli finished getting the water and returned to the bedroom, a faint cry briefly heard before the door clicked shut. "...it's taking too long."

"Hey, calm down," another voice spoke up. It was Zack, sitting on the cough with his elbows resting on his knees as he leaned forward. He looked nervous too, his eyes darting to the door occasionally, but not to the degree that his former-roommate was.  
At one point, when he first came into the house to keep the man company, he wondered if it meant something was wrong with him. Then he just realized that it was different with Won.

Being a bystander was a lot different than being the father, after all.

"Childbirth takes time-sometimes it can take days." This turned out to be the entirely wrong thing to say, as Won shot him the most panicked look he'd ever seen on the merchant - even worse than when he heard rumors of another merchant moving to town. "But I'm sure Claire will have the guy out in no time!" Zack hastily amended.

"It's taking too long...it's too quiet in there..." Won went back to muttering, actually taking his long braid and tugging on it as his speech went from English to Chinese in an instant. "This started hours ago-hours."

Around one in the morning, to be exact. That was when Trent had been awakened by the frantic pounding on his door, and a familiar voice shouting at him to wake up, wake up, Claire was having the baby. He and Elli had hurried to the farmhouse, a disheveled and sweating Won trailing behind them as he explained he hadn't wanted to leave Claire alone. But she'd insisted;  
she'd motioned for him to just go, get out the door and go. She'd be fine, labor could take hours, she wasn't going to pop the kid out in the short time he was gone.

Nonetheless, he'd still run like his heels were on fire, the image of Claire - strong, energetic Claire - lying in bed breathing heavily,  
sweating and occasionally crying out in pain, making him run all the faster.

Then a few hours later, Zack had been summoned. Someone had to keep the merchant from knocking the bedroom door every five minutes and asking if things were still alright. Or from worrying himself physically sick.

It was around noon, now. Zack could see why the other man was so upset.

"You know, it's funny," he said, interrupting Won's muttering. "I never would have seen you as the 'pacing, nervous father' sort."

There was no answer.

Zack sighed. Well, he'd tried to lighten the mood-

-a long cry was heard on the other side of the door. It was followed by Elli's muffled soothing. Not the best thing for Won to hear, honestly.

He finally sat back down on the sofa, tugging and twisting his braid harder as he stared at his knees, biting his lowe rlip enough to draw blood. By this point, Zack had gone from amused to genuinely worried. He'd never seen him like this. This was far worse than the 'rival merchant' rumors. "Hey...Won? Are you okay? Listen, I know it's your first, and I know it's awful bein' separated from Claire at this time, but she's in good hands."

Won sighed loudly, finally relinquishing his braid, only to cover his face with both hands, elbows on his knees. "I want a cigarette."

"You don't smoke."

"I want to start."

"Do you know how expensive that is?" Zack couldn't help smirk a little. When in doubt, mention the money involved. "It wouldn't be profitable."

Silence. Silence cut shortly later by another cry that became faint sobbing. Zack saw the other man's fingers grip his flesh tighter at the sound, saw how his body tensed up suddenly. "Hey-"

"When I was a kid," Won began, in muttered Chinese. "There was a lady who lived next door. She got pregnant. When it was time, they called the midwife. It took hours, it took almost as long as this." He slowly lifted his head, peering at Zack over his fingers. The shipper was shocked to see that his eyes were slightly red, a little moist. "She died."

Zack stared for a few seconds. Why had Won felt the need to say- Then he saw how the merchant's gaze wandered back to the door, his body still tensed...And then he understood. "Ah, Won..."

"It's taking longer than it did her," he cut off, speaking quickly. "It's taking longer, and it's still so quiet. What if...just what if...It'd be my fault, I-"

"Hey, hey!" Zack cut off sharply, clapping a heavy hand on the other's small shoulder. "Don't say that! You know Claire...she's strong, remember? Every day she goes all over that farm and she doesn't even get winded. And just yesterday, remember, we saw her lift that hammer and smash the boulder by the eggplants in one shot?" He smiled. "She'll be fine."

"...I don't kno-"

"Remember when she was about a season in?" Zack cut him off again. If he could keep him talking, maybe Won would calm down. It would at least be a welcome distraction from the almost-suffocating silence. "And she was at the inn, and she ate nearly all the apple pie they offered?"

There was finally the faint glimpse of a smile on Won's face. "Yes. And I told her to stop it because I was worried Doug would make us give him the next harvest's apples to replace all of his."

"You actually told her you didn't think it would be profitable, remember?" Zack was snickering a little at the memory. "And then before you could blink she just turned around, grabbed you by the collar and lifted you off the ground and she growled..."

_"'You can shove your profits where the sun doesn't shine!'"_ Ah, there was a real smile again. "Even when she was larger, she could pick me up and move that fast...and was that scary." There was another long stretch of silence; Zack took notice of Won's more-relaxed posture after that brief reminisce. So his plan had worked after all.

But it wasn't enough; he could see that Won's hands still twitched, his shoulders already starting to tense again. Zack opened his mouth to say more...

...and there was another long, loud cry. But it was more high-pitched, more quavery than Claire's voice. Both men sat up straighter, and the door opened. Elli leaned out, a tired but pleased smile on her face as she wiped her hands on her apron.

"It's here."

* * *

Zack had stayed behind as Won went in, slowing down after stepping through the doorway.

Trent stood with Elli at the end of the bed, wiping his brow, his own smile mirroring Elli's. "Women...are tough," he laughed weakly. Just as Zack had said, then?

The nurse made a slightly exasperated gesture toward the bed, where Claire lay on her side, her back to the door. "Well, go on..."

As strong as Claire was, she looked...weak now. Tired. Her blonde hair fanned around her head on the pillow, but it was damp,  
limp. Whatever hair was closer to her flesh - her bangs, the tendrils of hair that she would occasionally tuck behind an ear - were sticking to her damp, now-pale face. The sheets around her were damp as well, as was the pillow. She didn't move, even as the baby beside her cried. She was quiet...too quiet.

In an instant, the memory from childhood along with his fears that entire long, awful morning came rushing back.  
_"Baobèi?...Claire? **Baobèi?!-"**_

"Hmmm..." Claire's blue eyes opened a crack, and while she didn't move, her eyes shifted to look up at her husband. "'m fine...stop crying..."

Was he crying? Won hastily rubbed his sleeve across his face, ignoring the faint laugh from below. "Were you worried about me? 'm fine, see?" Her eyes shifted again, to the baby in a pink blanket. "She's fine, too...She's got big lungs, and Trent said she was healthy..."

"...she?" Won's voice was thick.

"Mm-hm. 's a girl," Claire whispered, fighting the tiredness as she looked back up. "I want to call her Mei."

Another smile. "There is already a May in Mineral Town. This will be confusing."

Claire simply shrugged.

"...But Mei it is, then." Won's grin widened as he looked to the child. The girl had stopped crying for the most part, whimpering faintly as her hands twitched. "Mei...you're going to be a very successful lady! I'll teach you all sorts of tricks with saving and selling, you'll see!"

Claire's leg twitched under the blanket, as if she wanted to kick Won but didn't quite have the strength. The merchant didn't notice, or perhaps he ignored it, as he kept babbling, switching between English and Chinese. Talking all about how Mei was going to be the most successful merchant around, and how he couldn't wait to show her how to do the Apple Game as he ignored, or didn't notice, the tears running down his cheeks.

And Zack sighed, shaking his head as he watched for a moment before heading for the front door. Well, he reasoned, word wasn't going to spread itself.


End file.
